Review of Before Sunrise (1995) by Diego T — 17 Feb 2014

The 750th movie for Tut's Tutillating Reviews just so happens to be the 22nd on the list of Tut's Tutillating 10/10s. That's right-this film has joined the ranks of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Donnie Darko, and The Big Lebowski as not only being one of the best movies ever made, but one of my favorite movies of all time. I wish I could give it a nine, just to keep the ol' 10/10 count down... but I would feel like a really shitty person if I didn't award this the full 100% endorsement it deserves. I enjoy dumb fun blockbusters as much as the next guy, but I'd like to think that at some point, we can all grow up, get over our love affair with pew pews, and sit down to enjoy a legitimately good movie like this.

Before Sunrise stars Ethan Hawke as an American visiting Europe on vacation, who bumps into a French girl (Julie Delpy) on the train. In a moment of wild abandon, he convinces her to get off the train with him at his stop, and the two of them share a whimsical and poetic night in Vienna. Such wonders are accomplished with this simplistic premise... you have no idea. And if you're worried that it will be too romantic, don't worry. This movie is more about two people sharing a chance encounter than any of the bullshit romantic comedy crap that Hollywood churns out these days. Sure, if you like Michael Bay movies, you'll probably be bored to tears by this film. But teary-eyed fans of The Notebook and The Lucky One will also despair, because it's occasionally quite cynical, doesn't have Channing Tatum, and relies on dialogue and observations about the world instead of manipulating its audience. In other words, this movie will be disliked by both action junkies and romance fans... so how could I not love it just for that alone?

The sheer level of acting going on between Hawke and Delpy is spellbinding. Never before have I seen a film in which two people look this natural and realistic together. Nearly everyone will hit a point in this movie where they forget that they're watching actors, and will become completely immersed in the story. It feels like these two people actually met this way, and Richard Linklater just stuck cameras inconspicuously around them. The movie is essentially a long marathon conversation, but it never gets boring in the slightest. Even the most offhanded statement the characters make can be funny and insightful. It's also fun to notice the occasional moment where they ad-lib a line perfectly, never breaking character. Even their hand gestures are choreographed perfectly. The awkwardness of Hawke's character is perfectly captured by his hover-hands and uncomfortable reach-arounds. Their body language is honed and tactical, and expertly conveys more than most actors can accomplish by chewing the furniture.

Through the course of the character's conversation, they span practically every topic imaginable, from love to family to... milkshakes. As the film progresses, it becomes increasingly easy to see why these two people might one day get sick and tired of each other. Hawke is a hopeless romantic disguised as a cynic, and Delpy is a cynic disguised as a romantic. But the beauty of the movie's premise is that the two of them will, for all intents and purposes, never meet again (except in the two sequels... heh heh). So every second they spend together is pure and completely detached from reality. They feel no need to hide their personalities from each other; nor should they. Their dialogue is so free of the complicated dance of social convention, it's nearly impossible not to be completely enchanted by it. Nothing is sugarcoated in this movie, which is not something that can be said about many films.

Final Score for Before Sunrise: THE RARE AND COVETED DIEGO TUTWEILLER 10/10 STARS!!! This movie is not for everyone, but the people who it's not for are not the kind of people I want to have conversations about movies with. Everything is excellent in this film. The acting is dead-on, the script is a perfect balance of comedy and drama, and the cinematography is gorgeous. I cannot stress enough how strong this movie is-there is virtually not a single wrong note throughout. It hearkens back to the golden days of Hollywood, when people could just talk and make movies, and special effects were virtually nonexistent (this film almost felt like it could have been black-and-white). And if you don't want to see it because it's a romance, fuck you. All genres have their moments of perfection (some more than others... ahem, animation), and Before Sunrise is the moment of perfection for romances. Experience this movie as soon as you possibly can. It's spectacular.